Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar, re-released after 61 years, catches a city and its people in flux

Weekend Ticket: Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar, re-released in theatres, sheds light on 1950s Kolkata, a megalopolis waking up to a capitalistic fever-dream.

Satyajit Ray's Mahanagar, first released in 1963, has returned to the big screen. Re-released with English subtitles and in 2K restoration, its black-and-white images are as distinct and potent now as they have ever been. When a film re-releases in a different time, for a different generation altogether, does its reception also warrant a shift? How does a new generation of viewers respond to and engage with the film's concerns? For a film as culturally specific as Mahanagar, set in the mid-1950s in Kolkata, it holds its place and power like a time capsule, still reflecting the dichotomies of the same megalopolis decades later. (Also read: After Heeramandi, watch Rajkahini: Srijit Mukerji's grittier Bengali film on women fighting for freedom)

Madhabi Mukerjee in a still from Mahanagar.

About Mahanagar

Mahanagar, based on Narendranath Mitra’s short story Awbotawronika (A Flight of Stairs), revolves around Arati (Madhabi Mukherjee), a housewife who takes a job as a door-to-door saleswoman. Her decision to work outside her home causes more turmoil, as Arati's husband, Subrata (Anil Chatterjee), loses his job. Mahanagar also marked the first screen appearance of Jaya Bachchan (then Bhaduri), who plays the younger sister of Subrata.

It is fascinating that the re-release of Mahanagar arrives at a time when the city it is based on, Kolkata, is in a state of turmoil. Once considered a lifeline of the city, the iconic Kolkata trams are now considered outdated. The West Bengal government has now decided to end Kolkata’s iconic tram service, as the rise of vehicular traffic has made it difficult for the trams to operate on the same routes, resulting in increased congestion. Mahanagar opens with the sight and sound of the trams, with the opening credits playing out with a shot of a trolley pole.

We first encounter Subrata (Anil Chatterjee) as he returns from a day's work, sitting in a tram filled with daily commuters. The tram appears yet again when Arati goes to her office on the first day, accompanied by her husband. The space of the public transport re-contextualises their relationship in a different light. It is a space where she can talk about her work, but also her insecurities, where she laments that at this time of the day, she bathes her son, Pintu. Now that she's out, who will take care of him? Anil reassures that he will be taken care of, and they hold hands.

The big city and its small changes

It is the same slow pace of the trams that has now rendered it outdated, which provides that necessary bubble of communication for the middle-class Bengali couple to express their anxieties and doubts to each other in Ray's vision. In the rush and disenchantment of fast-paced, privatised modes of transport for today's generation, Mahanagar's positioning of the trams reflects the desire to hold back, where the human connection is more important, more life-affirming than any other capitalistic market demands.

Another significant reminder that Mahanagar serves is how it highlights the figure of the working woman, in all her trials and tribulations, within a severely patriarchal society. Arati's quest for financial independence has given her confidence. She excels at her job, making friends at the workplace, setting her demands, and, above all, feeling secure in what she does. The re-release of Mahanagar arrives at an important time, when the city is ripped apart by the brutal assault and murder of a young doctor. Thousands of doctors, students and citizens have taken to the streets to demand justice for the 31-year-old woman trainee doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered at Kolkata's RG Kar Medical College and Hospital on August 9. The city lies awake in the wake of these protests, demanding safer workspace environments and stricter enforcement of safety protocols. Many decades have passed since Ray envisioned his female protagonist as a working woman, navigating the city streets and finding her voice. Yet, what has changed?

Ray's Mahanagar, with its still and hopeful distillation of a city constantly in a state of flux, exhibits a woman breaking free of the middle-class moralities. Arati's final plea to her husband, to always stay by her side and believe her, underlines her unshakeable integrity. Mahanagar still works so effectively because it recognises the city in a constant tussle between tradition and modernity, turning, shifting its gaze, and always adapting to change.

This is Weekend Ticket, where Santanu Das talks about similar films and shows based on the most recent releases.